The Romanian Senate passed the new Forestry Code bill on April 29, including, among others, the amendments to safeguard the forests in Ilfov county. Protecting these forests would be the starting point for creating the Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt - a civic initiative backed by the Ministry of Environment and MPs from across the political spectrum. With only 16% wooded area, Ilfov is considered an "area with a deficit of forest vegetation."

The Senate voted 87-1 (three abstentions) to pass the new Forestry Code bill, an essential milestone of Romania's recovery and resilience plan (PNRR). More than 200 amendments were submitted to the draft law, but not all got the green light from the expert committees. 

Protecting the forests of Ilfov is an initiative of the Together for the Green Belt/Împreună pentru Centura Verde civic platform, launched roughly a year ago by Alex Găvan, high-altitude climber and conservationist, and Florin Stoican, president of the associations Kogayon and the Urban Nature Network, and joined by over 150 non-profits, civic groups, and public figures. As its initiators say, it is a public health project with a strong social, climate change mitigation, and anti-pollution component, which also involves environmental actions.

Other Forestry Code amendments that passed the Senate vote, also backed by the Together for the Green Belt platform, promote unrestricted access to the forest for recreation and the protection and conservation of the so-called remarkable trees (old trees with multiple social-ecological functions) from the National Forestry Fund.

"Today, the Senate truly listened to the legitimate needs of civil society and acted accordingly, in the only responsible and ethical way it could. I bow with gratitude," said Alex Găvan.

According to the Ministry of Environment, other new provisions introduced by the Forestry Code include vehicle confiscation for those who transport 20% or at least 5 cubic meters of wood without documents, banning clear-cutting in almost half of the country's forest area, or afforestation done by the state on lands that have been deforested and abandoned by the owner.

Environment minister Mircea Fechet commented: "What particularly concerned us when drafting the Code was to find a balance between protecting the most valuable forests in the country and their sustainable management. Today, we can say that we have the largest areas of virgin forests in Europe, our mountains still hide forests where no human has ever set foot, we have about 10,000 companies active in the wood industry that has exceeded 3.5% of GDP."

To come into force, the Forestry Code reform must also pass the Chamber of Deputies and be signed into law by president Klaus Iohannis.

Together for the Green Belt, which also has the support of the Presidential Administration, was launched with the aim of offering concrete solutions to combat the worrying pollution in Bucharest and creating a much-needed Green Belt around the capital city. One of its pillars is the Memorandum for Clean Air, Health and the Future, which includes the amendments to protect the forests in Ilfov and other solutions for a healthier environment in the capital city and beyond. Several high-ranking political and executive decision-makers from all relevant parties have backed the memorandum, the only exception being the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD).

Moreover, through an online petition, people can back the civic platform's efforts by signature. The document gathered almost 12,000 signatures so far.

Further details about the Together for the Green Belt initiative are available here (in Romanian).

Alex Găvan also made the case for the creation of the Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt at the 2023 Climate Change Summit in Bucharest. A video of his speech below:

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Alex Găvan/Centuraverde.ro)